DILLON, Mont. – The Carroll College football team suffered a tough 26-22 loss down in Dillon Saturday afternoon in the season opener against the Bulldogs of Montana Western.
 
It was the Bulldogs who struck first early on after forcing a Carroll punt on their opening drive. Western marched 60 yards in seven plays and capped it off with a Reese Neville four-yard touchdown run.
 
The Saints responded with a drive of their own, going 65 yards before Stephen Powell capped it off with a field goal. With a little under nine minutes remaining in the first, Carroll trailed 7-3.
 
Western was able to cross the goal line once more to start off the second quarter on a Jon Jund three-yard quarterback keeper. The Saints blocked the extra point, keeping the score at 13-3.
 
Momentum began to shift in the direction of the Saints a few minutes later. A blocked punt by Carroll resulted in a safety to make it a one score game once again at 13-5. That score would hold going into half time.
 
The Bulldogs started with the ball coming out of the break and proceeded to march 75 yards for a touchdown to put them up 19-5. This time it was Neville again, finding the end zone from 10 yards out. Carroll proceeded to block extra point attempt for a second time.
 
Once again, the Saints responded. A 10 play, 72-yard drive capped off by a 15 yard Duncan Kraft touchdown run cut the deficit back to seven points and the Saints were in business. 
 
Following the Carroll touchdown, Western was on the move again. Rex Irby stepped in front of a pitch on an option play and returned the fumble deep into Bulldog territory. The Saints came away with three points courtesy of a Stephen Powell 25-yard field goal that made the score 19-15 in favor of Western at the end of the third quarter. 
 
The Saints got the ball back early on in the fourth quarter and began to march once more. 12 plays and 80 yards later, they found the end zone and took the lead. Devan Bridgewater escaped pressure in a heroic effort on third and long, rolled out to his left, and hit Tony Collins for a 21-yard touchdown to put Carroll up 22-19 with nine minutes to play. 
 
Carroll did their best to hold off the Bulldogs, but Western scored on a Jon Jund one yard run with 3:45 on the clock to take the lead. They went on to win the game 26-22 following Jund's second touchdown run of the day.
 
The star of the show for Western today was running back Reese Neville. The redshirt senior from Yerington, Nev., tallied 167 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards to help lead his team to victory.
 
Devan Bridgewater, the redshirt sophomore quarterback from Eagle, Idaho, completed 23 of his 40 attempts through the air for a touchdown and no picks. 74 of those yards came from Kyle Pierce, a senior wide receiver from Nampa, Idaho.
 
The Saints will look to get in the win column next Saturday as they host Montana Tech at Nelson Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 1 p.m.